Video: Honoring 9/11 By Preserving Its Memory

On September 11, 2001, most New Yorkers were not focused on the bigger picture of that day. They were walking home through crowded streets, finding their loved ones, and possibly reflecting on the irony of the beautiful weather. But others knew that years from then people would be looking back, wondering what that day felt and looked like to the people who experienced it. People took to their rooftops to take photos, and saved newspaper clippings of the first headlines.

Kenneth T. Jackson, former President of the New-York Historical Society, knew that as historians, it was our job to collect items and images related to that day, so that future New Yorkers may have a better understanding of what happened. Below, Jackson discusses his thoughts that day with Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of the New-York Historical Society.

1 Comment to “Video: Honoring 9/11 By Preserving Its Memory”

I was here that day, and I spent the whole next day cutting headlines and photos out of newspapers and putting them in a zippered bag decorated with pink checkers and strawberries. I found it at my mom’s place recently, everything yellowed, and it brought me right back to that day.